Google is playing catch-up in the AI race: Here's why
It is clear to everyone watching the tech space that Google is playing catch-up in the AI race. The tech giant has fallen behind Microsoft and OpenAI in the pecking order. A senior engineer at Google has now put another group ahead of Google: the open-source community. Yes, you heard it right. Let's see why Google is trailing in the AI race.
OpenAI disrupted Google's progress in AI
Google was a front-runner in the AI space for years, courtesy of Google Brain and DeepMind. OpenAI disrupted the tech giant's dominance with everyone's favorite ChatGPT. The chatbot not only catapulted OpenAI to the front of the pack but also created a sense of panic in Google. Since then, the company has been trying to one-up OpenAI and its AI product.
Open-source community is Google's biggest threat: Google engineer
In his critique of Google's progress in AI, Luke Sernau, the Google engineer, said the company lost its focus due to its rivalry with OpenAI. According to him, the search giant's real rival isn't OpenAI. Instead, it is the open-source community, where engineers are speedily developing models that can give LLMs of big tech companies a run for their money.
Google engineer believes even OpenAI can't outpace the open-source community
Sernau thinks even OpenAI has no chance of outpacing the open-source community in the AI race. He believes Google should "learn from and collaborate with" what is happening outside. He said no one would pay for models from big companies when they can get the same or even better for free from the open-source community.
Google should focus on smaller models: Sernau
Sernau ended his critique by asking the company to focus on smaller models. According to him, big models are slowing down the tech giant. Be it big models or something else, one thing is clear—Google has been slow in the AI race. In fact, even before the race began. Are you wondering how?
Google could have released Bard before ChatGPT: Blake Lemoine
Do you remember Blake Lemoine, the ex-Google engineer who claimed LaMDA became sentient? Lemoine recently revealed that Google could have released Bard before ChatGPT. He said Bard has been in development since 2021, and it was only safety concerns that prevented Google from launching it. Well, that did not pan out well for the company. To top it off, Bard's debut was a bust.
Is Google really slow, or is someone else too fast?
We have been talking about Google being slow in the AI race. Well, what if Google isn't slow? Maybe, someone else is just too fast. And that 'someone else' is Microsoft. Microsoft has been very aggressive in its AI pursuit. From pouring down billions in OpenAI to quickly incorporating AI into its products, the software giant has taken everyone by surprise, including Google.
Google has been making moves to change the status quo
Microsoft's aggressive strategy has made Bing Chat even better than ChatGPT itself. The software giant, for the first time, is posing a challenge to Google's search dominance. Multiple factors have led to Google trailing in the AI race. But Google is also making moves to change the dynamics of the race. Will it overtake its rivals or fall behind further remains to be seen.
